Adding Complimentary Treatments

Posted on: 15 July 2016

Smoking marijuana is commonly associated with getting the "munchies" and eating lots of junk food, so you may assume if you use medical marijuana for health problems or pain, you're going to get fat. However, that isn't the case. On top of all the other health benefits of medical marijuana, it may actually help you control your weight better. Check out these four ways marijuana can help with weight control.

It Helps to Regulate Your Metabolism

Your metabolism is how your body breaks down food into energy. When your metabolism is sluggish, you may have a hard time losing weight because your body is not properly creating energy. Causes of a slowed metabolism include stress, lack of sleep, eating too much fat, not having enough muscle, following a low-calorie diet, medications and certain health conditions.

Studies on marijuana have shown that it helps to regulate your metabolism. In particular, it helps to regulate carbohydrate metabolism in marijuana users. Improving your metabolism alone won't help you drastically lose weight. However, when combined with a healthy diet and regular exercise, boosting your metabolism with medical marijuana can help make weight loss easier.

It May Regulate Your Eating Patterns

People with anorexia and bulimia have a hard time regulating their eating patterns. Both may feel anxiety and fear when it comes to eating, so they tend to avoid food as much as possible. People with bulimia, however, also will experience moments where they have no self-control and eat as much as they can. It's believed that bulimia and anorexia are caused by an imbalance in brain chemicals.

Research has shown that marijuana can help regulate your eating patterns if you suffer from these disorders. No, it doesn't make you hungry, so you chow down. Instead, it affects the endocannabinoid system in your brain. This is the area that really make you enjoy good foods. People with bulimia and anorexia often have an underactive endocannabinoid system, so the marijuana can help boost it and make food more pleasurable.

It Allows the Body to Regulate Insulin Production Better

Diabetes is a common disease in Americans. One of the most frustrating symptoms of having diabetes is that it makes it difficult to lose weight. This is because people with diabetes do not regulate insulin well. Even if you don't have diabetes but have higher levels of insulin than normal, you'll find it difficult to lose weight.

Marijuana can actually help control insulin production better. According to the study, marijuana users have fasting insulin levels that were 16 percent lower than people who did not use marijuana. Of course, you should not stop taking insulin if you are diabetic, but it is a good idea to talk with your doctor about adding marijuana to your diet if you have diabetes or high blood-sugar/insulin levels.

It May Suppress Your Appetite

Appetite suppression may not seem like it should be associated with marijuana, and that is often the case. There are many different strains of marijuana, and some do increase appetite. However, there are some that can actually suppress your appetite. If you can't lose weight because you are constantly hungry, this is a good way to use a natural appetite suppressant instead of pharmaceuticals.

The stains that suppress appetite contain a THCV compound and are usually from South and East Africa. They include Durban Poison, Super Silver Haze, G13, and Green Crack. Keep in mind that while the marijuana will suppress your appetite, it won't stop you from overeating when you aren't hungry, which is a common problem in obese people.

Marijuana isn't a magic medicine that will drastically make you skinny or fix your eating disorder. You'll may still need to take other medications and continue with a healthy diet and exercise routine. If you would like to know more about the benefits of medical marijuana, talk to your doctor or contact a company like Citadel Alternative Care today.